Comparing Taking the Bus Between Austin and Dallas

With a population that slightly exceeds one million, Dallas is a major business center and a thriving city located in the northeast of Texas. Dallas consists of a variety of entertainment parks, venues, arts, arts, cuisine – there is much more to enjoy here. Additionally, it is home to the Dallas Cowboys, an NFL football team that is renowned all over the world; Texas Rangers, a Major League baseball team. There is so much fun to enjoy in Dallas. Regardless of the season, whichever time of the year you choose to visit Dallas, you are guaranteed to find plenty to taste, hear, see, and also experience. You can travel by road, rail or air to Dallas from the tech capital of Austin — and for business travelers and leisure travelers alike the decision about how to get between the two metropolises can be a difficult one.

Austin, the Capital of Texas, is 195 miles South of Dallas. It is a smaller city, but just cosmopolitan as Dallas. It is full of history and cultural events such as arts, music, and theatre, not to mention all the tech giants and big corporations located nearby. It also has its own team line up of professional sports like the Pacific Coast League Baseball, Round Rock Express, Texas Stars American Hockey League, Austin Spurs, Austin Aztex, NBA D-League Basketball, United Soccer League, and Austin Outlaws, a Women’s Football Alliance. The city slogan is “Absolutely,” signifying it as a must-see city.

Traveling by Bus

If you choose to travel by road, you can use OurBus (OurBus.com), which offers daily services between Dallas and Austin. Fares start as low as $20 one way. The travel time by road is approximately 3 hours and the bus departs from downtown Austin, taking you directly into downtown Dallas. For regular riders, with the OurBus Select membership, you can get $15 off each ticket for the next 10 rides for only $49, a fantastic savings for those that travel between the two cities often. One of the biggest benefits of traveling by bus is the price — it truly can’t be beat. OurBus busses include complimentary wifi for you to stay connected, free bottles of water and plenty of electrical outlets.

Traveling By Air

Dallas has two large airports, one at Dallas Love Field (DAL), and the other at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW).

With a roundtrip using one of the major airlines such as American Airlines, basic tickets between the two cities run at around $125 for the cheapest, going up from there into the several hundreds of dollars — more if you buy First Class. It’s worth noting that DAL does not provide direct flights to Austin, so the only option without a connection is from DFW.

DFW is serviced by almost all major airlines, which include international airlines. This makes it easy for you to virtually access Dallas from anywhere in the world and beyond.

If you choose to travel by air, you may have to incur other costs such as the parking fees at the airport. DFW provides hourly parking fees starting at $2 per hour and is prorated upward to the full day’s fare. The maximum parking fee you can pay per day is $22. While Love Field is far more convenient to the center of the city, the airport is serviced by less airlines, none of which go non-stop to Austin, so you’ll be forced to make a connection.

Final Thoughts

When you take into account the time to part, go through security, and account for boarding, even with the busses 3 hour ride time, it still may be more convenient since you can stay productive the entire time while traveling, whereas at the airport you’ll mostly be on the move.